


Vive La Noblesse

by MysteryWriter36



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood, Gun Violence, I'm moving the rating to M because of dark themes and stuff, Monarchy, Not Beta Read, Other, Prosthesis, Really not sure how to tag this, Revolution, Science Fiction, Treason, combination of steampunk sci-fi and medieval elements, first draft, then again none of my stuff is beta read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-26 20:49:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14410287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteryWriter36/pseuds/MysteryWriter36
Summary: Jules is a blacksmith working hard to provide for his family after the death of his father. Mary is one of the most intelligent assistants of King Arliss II, and third-in-command of all scientific research conducted in the kingdom of Avenir. Isaac is the strongest and most lethal member of the King's Guard, and the youngest to ever earn such a position. All three are loyal to the crown, but one day the dwindling threads holding their sense of complacency together finally snap.





	1. Jules

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sci-fi story I'm working on for my creative writing class. "Vive La Noblesse" translates to "Long Live [The] Nobility"

Truly, it had begun as any other day. The sky was blue, full of clouds and the occasional air ship, birds sang outside the windows, and people milled about the streets and shops. In the distance, one could hear the sound of a train. Whether it was coming or going, I could not discern.

 

I spent my morning make breakfast, as always, for my mother and sister. I looked over, seeing a picture of us and my father on the wall. It hadn’t been easy since he died, and it had been worse since mother took ill, but I couldn’t find it in myself to complain. I loved my family, and I knew that I was lucky to have them, and the little bit that we had. I had family, a roof, and food. Most days, it was enough.

 

On the days where it wasn’t enough, I carried out my tasks with little concentration, my eyes occasionally fixating on the turrets just barely visible from above the high castle wall. What I had was barely enough to scrape by. What the king had was enough to last several lifetimes. Some days, the hunger I felt made me so angry that I would consider treason. I would consider ending the king’s reign to end the kingdom’s suffering. But then I see a guard, and I remember the consequences of treason: the death of me and my family. So I turn back to my work and forget such thoughts.

 

But one day, I put those thoughts into action, all because of one little encounter. I decided to put my life in jeopardy, all because of a girl named Mary.

* * *

 “Jules, are you done with that shield yet?”

 

I can barely hear Arthur’s shout over the sound of blood pumping in my ears. Sweat drips down my face and exhaustion weighs down my limbs as if each bone is filled with lead. The shield was done, yes, but the work for the day was not, and I wasn’t looking forward to several more hours working with fire and metal.

 

Finally, Arthur enters the room, probably upset with my lack of an answer, and grabs the shield off the table. He throws me a towel and says, “Go freshen up, we have a diplomat on the way.”

 

Great, I think, more work. But then again, the work gets me paid, and the money feeds my family. So I shove down the complaints and go to the bathroom. When I exit, I faintly hear a voice from the front of the building.

 

“Do you think you can get this all done?” they ask.

 

“Certainly! Jules is the best blacksmith this side of kingdom, he can do anything!” I hear Arthur reply.

 

“Don’t make promises for me,” I say as I enter the room, finally catching sight of the other person. Her long dark hair is in a perfect plait, not a single strand out of place, the color contrasting sharply with her white uniform, the only colors present being the gold and purple crest stitched into the right side of her jacket. Definitely a diplomat sent by King Arliss.

 

“A few swords aren’t too much for a worker like you, Jules. Don’t act as if you are incapable of the standards I hold you to.”

 

I shake my head. “No need to brag, I know I’m great. Just let me do the talking on my orders, yeah?”

 

“Fair enough. I’ll leave the two of you be to talk over the details.”

 

Arthur leaves us, and for a few moments the room is deathly quiet, neither me nor the stranger meeting eyes. She then approaches the counter and pulls a small device from her messenger bag, placing in the surface and hitting one of the many buttons adorning the top. The device project several holographic images, and the diplomat scrolls through them with one hand, beckoning me over with the other. She places her hand near the hologram and spreads her fingers, making the images larger.

 

“Do you think you are capable of making these weapons?”

 

I look over the images, some of them showing swords, the others showing more complicated items.

 

“I have most of the technology required for the last few weapons, but I’ll need your help in assembling them. I also have the blueprints.”

 

I’m silent a while longer, staring at the work, before turning back to the diplomat.

 

“I can do what you’ve asked, but it will be quite costly.”

 

“That is no problem. We can discuss payment once your boss has returned. Until then, however, would you please point me in the direction of the bathroom?”

 

I show her to the bathroom, and then make my way back to the room where we were discussing business. The device is still on the counter, and in my curiosity, I can’t help but pick it up and examine it. As I turn it in my hand, I lose my grip on it and it falls to the floor. I quickly pick it up, cursing under my breath, and accidentally pressing a few buttons. Several different images pop up and disappear, and I catch fleeting glimpses of blue prints, the castle grounds, festivals and celebrations, calendars, documents I didn’t have the time to read, and people I didn’t recognize. Finally, the device settled on what seemed to be an untitled typed document.

 

I carefully placed the device back on the counter and began to read. The document spoke of the king, the corruption of the court and the crown, and a desire to spark a revolution. Slowly, the passion of revolt died back down to doubts and loyalty. I wonder if this was written by-

 

“What are you doing?! Stop reading my personal documents!” the diplomat demands as she quickly makes her way across the room, snatching the device from the counter and turning it off before shoving it back into her messenger bag. “What makes you think you have any right to-“

 

“You want to incite a revolution.”

 

The young woman looks alarmed and quickly shushes me.

 

“No so loud!” she whisper-shouts. “You never know who could be listening!” She huffs and looks away, then looks back at me. “You need to forget what you read here. I have no intention of breaking my loyalty to the throne.”

 

“What if I offered to help?”

 

“Two people? Starting a whole revolution? Avenir wasn’t built in a day, sir.”

 

“No…But it can be destroyed in one.” The young woman looks at me, apprehension and curiosity apparent on her face. “Tell me what you need me to do. Let us end this. I know the people of Avenir are ready to put an end to their lives of suffering and poverty, so help me help them.”

 

She stares at me pensively, then slowly offers her hand.

 

“Mary Woll, at your service.” She says, and I take her hand and reply in kind. We withdraw our hands and she motions for me to follow her. She takes a seat, and I lock the doors.

 

“Now, how do you propose we begin the revolt? You know the inside of the castle best.”

 

Mary retrieves the device from her messenger bag again, and thus begins the revolution.


	2. Mary

As I leave Jules’ shop, adrenaline begins coursing through my veins. The quiet seclusion of the room and our conversation now without any walls to protect us. I wonder if someone is on their way to arrest me. High treason is a capital offence, and the last thing I want is to become a headless body or mindless slave.

 

I make my way through the streets, weaving through merchants, children, aspiring scientists, all staring as I passed by. Perhaps they were in awe of my appearance, or perhaps it was that they saw me walking. Most of nobility, diplomats, and other servant of the king preferred to go by train, or air ship. As I walk, I can hear Jules’ words in my head.

 

“It can be destroyed in one.” he had said. Avenir could be brought to its very knees in a single day if enough people rose up and fought. Jules truly believed that. I wish I could say the same, but I live in the world of science. Nothing happens unless you can prove it. Until then, it remains a hypothesis. So this revolution will be my greatest experiment yet. I can only hope that its conclusion is the one Jules and I are betting on.

* * *

 

“How was your trip, Mary?” King Arliss asks me.

 

During my entire walk back to the castle, I could not manage to steady my nerves enough for this moment.

 

“It was nice, your highness. I visited a young blacksmith who agreed to do the work. His boss attested to the quality of his work, and so I left them to it.”

 

“You were gone an awful long time. Can you tell me what you were doing?”

 

“I was talking in depth about the technology on the blueprints with the blacksmith, your highness. He was not as familiar with it as most blacksmiths in the kingdom are.”

 

“Thank you, Mary, for your service. That is all, today. You may leave.”

 

“Thank you, your highness.”

 

I didn’t take a moment to catch my breath until I was in my chambers. Once the door was closed, I leaned back against it and slid down to the floor, trying to steady my breathing and relax.

 

The revolution was to begin, in mass, tomorrow at dawn. There were, perhaps, twelve hours left before things were to really begin. So I did the only thing I really could do: I ate dinner and settled down to sleep. My sleep was fitful and filled with dreams of blood and screams and fire.

 

At around three in the morning, I awoke in a cold sweat. It was then that I began to second-guess my actions. But it was too late. Jules had begun slipping letters under every door and passing whispers through every crowd about the meeting at sunrise. There was no going back. And although it was terribly early, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get any rest, so I threw off the blankets and began getting ready for the day.

 

Everything seemed to be going by in a haze. At dawn, the cold sweat and adrenaline came back. No one had brought news to the castle of treason yet, but it was only a matter of minutes before the king found out. I began to work my way through the castle, setting everything up for the revolution on the inside.

 

Switches were flipped, buttons were pressed, defenses were delayed or shut down, and weapons were tampered with. I was leaving the armory when a diplomat suddenly rushed towards me.

 

“Mary, you must come quickly! The commoner are revolting! Guards lie dead in the streets and as we speak they march to the castle!”

 

“Go, then!” I say, pretending to be shocked and afraid. “Gather the nobility and diplomats, I’ll try to boost the castle’s defenses!”

 

The man nods, horror present in every feature, and runs. I do not follow. Instead, I wait until he is out of sight, before heading back into the armory. I gather as many weapons as I can fit into my messenger bag, which I emptied in my room just this morning. I fill it with all manner of guns, knives, and other small weapons. I grab a couple weapons for myself, then leave. As I run through the castle, I find it to be empty. Outside, I can hear the air ships taking off. I’ve already disabled the weapons, but it’s more likely that the nobility and diplomats are using the ships to retreat instead of fight back.

 

Knowing I could use one to help defend the revolutionaries and get weapons to them, I find the smallest air ship we have, which is still quite large, and undo the damage I’ve done on the weapons system.

 

It’s been an hour, maybe two, since dawn broke. It would be a long march to the castle for the revolutionaries in the street. And it would certainly be a long fight for all of us, no matter who wins.

 

I start up the air ship and set a course for Jules’ blacksmithing shop.

 

“For the revolution.” I say, as the air ship lifts off the ground. “For freedom.”

* * *

 

The city is covered in blood and fire just as it was in my dreams. And indeed there are angry screams in the air as I approach, though they are barely audible over the rumbling jets of the air ship. Things aren’t quite as awful as they were in my dreams, but then again, I’m not yet on the ground.

 

I land the air ship behind the blacksmithing shop, the space barely large enough, and shut it off. People begin to approach me as I exit the airship. Before they can shout accusations as to my position, I place my hand on the King’s Crest that adorns my uniform. I look at them pointedly as I rip it off. I then approach one of them.

 

“May I?” I ask, holding my hand out to a person holding a torch. They oblige, handing me the torch, and I light the crest on fire, dropping the burning mess to the ground where it becomes ashes at my feet. I hand the person their torch back, and the crowd accept me into their ranks.

 

“Where can I find Jules?” I ask. “Jules Morel. He works at this blacksmithing shop.”

 

“He is leading the resistance.” one of them says. “He is on the front lines, far ahead of us.”

 

“Take me to him. And pass these around.” I respond, handing the group my messenger bag full of weapons. “It’s not a lot, but it’s all I could get. And feel free to get someone in the air ship or raid it for parts.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“No problem. Just get me to Jules.”


	3. Isaac

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we have reached the end of Vive La Noblesse! I submitted it to my teacher this morning, on an 8-page long Word document. I hope all of you have enjoyed this!

In all honesty, I should have known something was wrong when I did not wake with the sun. I woke to find that the sun had long since breached the horizon outside my window, and rushed to ready myself. I had surely missed the meeting with the King’s Guard by now, and there was no doubt in my mind that I would hear the end of this mistake for weeks to come.

 

I made my way out of my bedchamber and down the stairs, only to find that in the few hours I was not present, the castle had fallen into chaos. Nobility and servants alike fled and screamed and chattered, horrified looks adorning their faces, and no matter where, King Arliss was nowhere to be found.

 

“Sir Isaac! Thank God! Where have you been?” a voice calls out to me.

 

I turn to see an older man, Count Wells, and bow, as is customary, but he yanks me upright.

 

“No time for formalities! The kingdom is falling! The commoners are revolting! As we speak, they line the streets, outnumbering and killing the guards and police!  The castles’ defenses have been disarmed and are malfunctioning! We need to get out of here!” Count Wells yells, visibly panicking as he drags me towards the hangar where we keep all the airships. I wrench my wrist from his hand and stand my ground.

 

“I cannot leave without securing the king, Count Wells.”

 

The man looks surprised, then angry, then panicked again. “Go, then!” he says. “I’m saving my own skin! God and Arliss forgive me, but I will not waste another moment and risk throwing myself to the wolves.”

 

As he rushes off, I can’t help but scoff. The commoners? Wolves? No. The people of Avenir were fighting against the greed and injustice of the nobility. People like Count Wells were the wolves. And yet, despite knowing this, I chose to be loyal to the crown all those years ago. I rest in the lap of luxury, but at what cost?

 

The sound of gunfire forces me to realize that now is not the place nor time for soul-searching or some sort of philosophical epiphany. I have a throne to either protect or fight. I suppose I have time to figure which I’ll be doing until I find the king.

* * *

 

I finally find myself at the doors of the throne room, but I am not alone.

 

“Mary? Mary Woll?” I ask, upon spotting the scientist. She’s with an unfamiliar man, and they’re both trying to pry open the doors to the throne room.

 

“Sir Isaac…” Mary says, her hand slowly moving for her weapon. “I thought you would have left with the rest of the nobility.”

 

“I have a sworn oath to protect the throne.”

 

“Very well-“ Mary begins, raising her weapon, but I am quick to interrupt.

 

“An oath I am ready to break.”

 

“Can we trust him?” I hear Mary’s companion ask.

 

Mary stares at me pensively. “Can we trust you?”

 

“Your loyalty broke, and so did your friend’s. Now, so has mine. It is time to put an end to the reign of King Arliss.” I say to her, our gazes never diverting.

 

Finally, she seems to let her guard down, and se beckons me over. “Can you get this door open?”

 

I smirk. “Underestimating me, are you?”

 

She smiles back. “Never. Here, take this.” She says, handing me a gun. I accept the weapon and thank her.

 

It takes a few tries, but I finally manage to put in enough force to break the lock. The door opens, and a black mass suddenly slams into me. I can hear Mary and her companion scream as I am knocked to the floor and practically suffocated by the mass before it suddenly retreats.

 

“Never in a thousand years would I have counted _you_ amongst my enemies. The very notion of you betraying the crown makes me feel like laughing. Surely this is some ploy or jest, Sir Isaac.”

 

The intoxicating charm of the king’s voice dulls my senses. Somewhere inside me, I feel the need to get up, to kneel for my king, and pledge my undying loyalty to the crown once more. But the knowledge of all the hate and greed in his heart, and the bloodshed he has caused to satisfy that greed, brings me to my feet.

 

“Nothing about my complete and utter disdain for your existence is a jest, my king. If I could have it so, I would torture you, and make sure that you feel every bit as much pain as you have caused. But we don’t have that sort of time or patience, I suppose.”

 

“Now, now, Isaac- you don’t really believe those rumors that I could die by your own hand, do you?”

 

I raise my weapon. “Maybe, maybe not. Let’s find out if they’re true.”

 

The battle than ensues could have been minutes, or hours. I had no way of telling time. All I knew was that Mary, her friend, and I, all exchanged blows with the king, but never did we land a single hit. For every attack we proceeded with, he fought back, using his hands or the nanotechnology he was controlling. The large mass of miniscule bots had been the same mass that had knocked me back when I first entered the throne room, and Arliss seemed to be controlling them, but I could not tell what he was using to do so.

 

Finally, while Mary and I have Arliss distracted, the man with Mary takes a shot with his gun, hitting the king in the eye. He collapses, screeching, the nano-bots forming a protective shield around him.

 

“What do we do now? What _can_ we do?” I ask Mary.

 

“I need to find something to destabilize the technology. I have such a device in my room, but you and Jules have to distract Arliss and hold him back so I can get to it.”

 

“Okay, okay, just go! Hurry!”

 

Mary takes off, and Jules and I are left to deal with Arliss. We lock eyes for a moment.

 

“If you betray us, I will not hesitate to kill you.” Jules tells me.

 

I simply nod and turn back to Arliss, who is slowly appearing, the nano-bots forming a puddle at his feet, spreading out to surround Jules and me. We tried running, but the bots climbed up our legs, hindering our movement.

 

“Bold of you to assume that your plan would succeed.” Arliss rumbles. He turns to me, saying, “Last chance, Sir Isaac. Surrender, pledge your loyalty to me once more, and help me exterminate the vermin that dare try to invade and cause the collapse of my kingdom, and you will be rewarded _greatly_.”

 

I look at Jules, and I am not surprised to see that he is angry. He expects me to switch so easily, to fall right back to Arliss. But unlike the days before this one, I pride myself on my ability to disappoint.

 

I kneel, bowing my head, and say, “King Arliss II, ruler of Avenir, you are as powerful, as mighty, and as amazing as you are gullible and greedy and _monstrous._ ” I look back up. “It is truly my greatest hope that you burn in-“ I’m cut off by a sharp pain in my stomach. I can feel warm liquid soaking the shirt under my armor, and I look down. A blade is imbedded in my skin, situated in the single sliver of space between pieces of my armor. I fall to the ground just I hear Mary scream.

 

My vision is blurry, and dark at the edges, but I can see Mary as she rushes into the room. Screaming and cursing, she presses a few buttons on the device she has, and the nano-bots all fall to the floor. While he is shocked and distracted by Jules and Mary, I find the strength to raise my gun. I pull the trigger. The king falls to the floor, blood pooling where his head lays on the expensive carpet. I can’t really hear my words, but I can feel them as they leave my mouth, my vision failing me;

 

“You may not have fallen by my hand, but you fell by my gun.”

* * *

 

I kneel before the throne, my head bowed, and I can see the carpet is still bloodied from that fateful day I still have no memory of. King Jules and Queen Mary often tell me that I was Avenir’s greatest hero that day, six months ago.

 

“You nearly became a martyr,” King Jules told me one day as I was recovering. “Mary was able to get you to the infirmary and do a blood transfusion, but some parts of you just weren’t salvageable. She did her best. I’m thankful the Hero of Avenir lives.” King Jules’ voice echoes, the conversation now fading from my mind.”

 

My eyes move to my right arm, now cybernetic, matching my left leg and part of the right side of my face. I, too, am thankful to be alive, even if I am not in one piece.

 

“You may rise, Sir Isaac.” Queen Mary says.

 

“How may I be of service today, your highness?”

 

“Scout the border to the North. We attack in two weeks’ time and I want your men watching the border closely.” Queen Mary orders.

 

“Attack? Are we countering something they did while I was recovering, your highness?”

 

“No,” King Jules answers. “They simply have a great number of things and a great deal of land this kingdom could use. We need to build our empire back up.”

 

Something about the way King Jules speaks of the other country worries me and reminds me of Arliss. I remember his greediness and hunger for power, and how it was only amplified by the mention of his own kingdom or his own crown.

 

I look at the stoic faces of my rulers, then at the ornate crowns sitting on their heads, then at the thrones they sat on; the people, crowns, and thrones I swore loyalty to.

 

“Is something wrong, Sir Isaac?” Queen Mary asks, snapping me out of my daze.

 

I shake my head. “No, your highness.” I bow, saying, “I will see to it that your orders are carried out. I hope you will also grant me a place on the front lines of the battle, if it be amongst your wishes.” When I straighten up, I see the king and queen smiling at me.

 

“We’ll see if it is so when the time arrives, Sir Isaac.” King Jules says. “You are dismissed.”

 

With that, I turn and leave, the doubt in my rulers draining away. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, yes, but my rulers are strong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed this! You can also find me on my tumblr @mysterywriter36

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed this! You can also find me on my tumblr @jacqueswrites


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